Stacking machine



Jan. 19, 1960 W; E. SCHNEIDER 2,921,508

STACKING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28. 1955 INVENTORS WALTERE. SCH NEIDER STANLEY KUFEL THEIR ATTORNEYS Jan. 19, 1960. w, SCHNElDERETAL 2,921,508

STACKING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Juiy 2a. 1955 INVENTORS WALTERE.SCHNE|DER STANLEY KUFEL B THEIR ATTORNEYS Jan. 19, 1960 w. E.SCHNEIDER ETAL 2,921,503

STACKING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 28, 1955 FIGS.

IL JS N Y o m T R NS.Y O EE.U fl W N .A IEA R w MT Jan. 19, 1960 w. E.SCHNEIDER ETAL 2,921,503

STACK-INS MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 28, 1955 R com S M L M 3mum/cw. f E mwK MN v am m m n mm A T m I I I I I 2 M E w m W. E.SCHNEIDER ET'AL Jan. 19, 1960 STACKING MACHINE Filed Juiy 2a. 1955 8Sheets-Sheet 6 ENTORS INV ER E.SCHNEIDER NLEY KUFEI.

L WALT Y STA PZ in-1% THE'R ATTORNEYS Jan. 19, 1960 w. E. SCHNEIDEREI'AL 2,921,508

STACKING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed July 28. 1955 1 I l l l l l l ll l l l l I l l l l I I l du FZDOU INVENTORS WALTER E. SCH NEIDERSTANLEY KUFEL Tail-M 7, Z141 6M THEIR ATTORNEYS United States PatentSTACKING MACHINE Walter E. Schneider, Pearl River, N.Y., and StanleyKufel, Westerly, R.I., assignors to Congoleum-Nairn, 1nc., Kearny, N.J.,a corporation of New York Application July 28, 1955, Serial No. 524,937

21 Claims. (Cl. 93-93) This invention relates to stacking machinesgenerally and more particularly, to a machine wherein articles are fedone at a time from one or more hoppers to a common receiving transporterand the articles are received by the transporter in stackedrelationship.

Although subject to varied application, the machine of the presentinvention is particularly suited for counting automatically flat piecesof rigid or semi-rigid materials, such as floor tile, and transferringthese stacks to convenient pick-up stations from which they may beremoved andpackaged.

In the specific embodiment of the present invention, the tile are fedfrom two diametrically opposed hoppers, one at a time, eitheralternately or in predetermined sequence, onto a vertically movabletransporter. The tile discharged from each of the hoppers is counted andthe information transmitted to an electronic counter, and when thedesired number of tile has been stacked on the transporter, the furtherdischarge of tile from the hoppers is interrupted. The transporter thentransfers the stackof tile to a long multi-station platform and thestackof tile is automatically removed from the transporter to thefirststation of the platform. Thereafter, the transporter is returned toits tile receiving position and the feed of tile from thehoppers isagain initiated to compile the next stack.

- The multi-station platform includes a plurality of stations in line,and as each successive stack is received by the platform from thetransporter, the stacks previously received are advanced along theplatform from one sta tion to the next until the platform has its fullcapacity of stacks, as indicated when a stack reaches the last stationof the platform. Thereupon, transverse stack .pushers are actuated,translating a plurality of the stacks transversely'of the platform ontoreceiving tables located adjaoentea'ch of the respective stations of theplatform from which stacks are pushed. The stacks so delivered to thereceiving tables contain the desired number of tile and are ready forpacking.

One important aspect of the invention is the tile feeding unit. Thisunit, which includes the hopper and the feeding mechanism associatedtherewith, is pivotally mounted to the main frame structure of themachine. This pivotal movement of the feed unit permits the direction atwhich the tile is discharged toward the transporter to be adjusted, andthis adjustment is important, particularly if the tile is stacked atgreat "speed.

The tile feeding mechanism comprises a reciprocating 'slidecarrying oneor more spring urged pivotal the engaging members disposed beneath thehopper. During the rearward stroke of the slide, the pivotal tileengaging members carried by the slide engage the'rear edge of thelowermost tile in the hopper, and during the forward stroke of theslide, the leading'edge of'thetile is advanced through the dischargeopening of the hopper'to a set of teed rolls. The feed rolls, invturn,discharge the tile in the direction of the transporter.

predetermined numbero'f'tile have'been'thus ice stacked on thetransporter, the tile engaging members carried by the reciprocatingslide are pivoted to and locked in an inoperative position until thetransporter has had an opportunity to deliver the completed stacks tothe multistation platform and return to the tile receiving position.When the transporter has returned to the receiving position, tripmechanism is actuated to restore thetile engaging members to operativeposition, thereby initiating tile feeding operation to compile anotherstack.

It is desirable that the tile from both eed units be stacked one aboveanother with the edges even and the corners squared, and accordingly atile receiving receptacle -or squan'ng box is disposed between the feedunits and above the transporter. For very rapid stacking, the tile fromthe two feed units are fed alternately into the upper end of the chute,and the leading edgesof the tile from each feed unit strike the remotewall of the receptacle, the wall serving as a stop to register theleading edge of the tile. Preferably, the timing of the delivery of thetile to the chute from the two oppositely disposed feed units issuchthat the leading edge of the tile from the one feed unit engages theupper surfaceof the tilemow ing in the opposite direction beneath it inthe vicinity of the trailing edge thereof, therebyfacilitating theproper seating of the tile in rapid succession.

As the tile is stacked on the transporter, the transporter graduallydescends under the weight of the tile to maintain the upper levelrelatively constant during the stacking operation. This, of course,makes it unnecessary for the tile to drop any substantial distance tothe transporter and, therefore, helps to prevent jamming up ormisalignment of the tile which might otherwise result from such drop.

For a complete understanding of the present invention, reference maybe'had to the detailed description which follows and to the drawingswherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the entire machine;

Fig.2 is a side elevation view taken along the] line 2..2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation view as viewed from the delivery end of themulti-station platform; the view is taken substantially along the line3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the tile feeding units shown inFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view showing the discharge portion of the feedunit shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is plan view of the tile feeding mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the tile feeding mechanismshown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 7, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the electricalcontrol system; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are schematic circuit diagrams illustrating parts of theelectrical control system in greater detail.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Figs. 1, land 3, tile t arestacked manually or by any suitable means into the hoppers 14 of a pairof oppositely disposed feed units, generally denoted 15. The tile aredischa-rge'd'from the feed units one at a time and alternately in rapidsuccession onto a vertically movable transporter 16-situated between thefeed units. To insure that the tile stacked on the transporter will bealigned uniformly, one above another, a stationary rectangular chute orsquaring box 17 is mounted between the feed units andabove thetransporter in such fashion as to always provide proper alignment of thetile on the transporter.

The tile are fed from the feed units into the upper end ,of thesquaringbox 17, and as the title are stacked on the transporter,theadded weight thereof causes {the transporter to gradually descend.The gradual descent Patented Jan. 19, 19 60 tile are' stacked. Thus, thefall of the tile after discharge by the feeding unit is relativelyconstant as the height of the stack increases.

As best shown in Fig. 4, a photoelectric cell 18 and a light source 19are stationed adjacent the discharge end of each of the tile feedingunits 15, and as a tile is discharged by each of the feeding units itinterrupts the light beam. These interruptions are counted by anelectronic counter A (see Fig. 9), and when a predetermined number oftile has been stacked on the transporter, the transporter is lowered toconvey the stack to the level of a long fore-and-aft multi-stationplatform 20. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the fore-and-aft platform20 comprises a plurality of stationary plates closely spaced to eachother in line and supported by a main frame structure B. The stacks sdelivered to the platform 20 one at a time by the transporter 16 areadvanced intermittently from station to station along the platform untilthe platform has received its full capacity of stacks. In the embodimentshown in the drawings, there are five such stations along the platform,and the platform, therefore, may accommodate five stacks of tile. Whenthe platform has received its full capacity of stacks of tile, the firsttwo stacks in line are translated transversely of the platform toreceiving tables 21, 22 adjacent the platform by the operation of atransverse pusher or bumper 23, and the second two stacks in line aretranslated transversely in the opposite direction to receiving tables24, 25 adjacent the platform by the operation of a transverse pusher orbumper 26. The stacks may be removed from the tables 21, 22, 2.4, 25 byhand or by other suitable means.

The details of the tile feeding-unit 15 are best shown in- Figs. 4, 6and 7. The hoppers 14-are defined by front and back members 14a and141;, respectively, and, as shown in Fig. 7, a discharge opening 14c isprovided at the lower end of the hopper between the lower end of thechannel 14a and the base 14d. The height of the discharge opening 140 isadjustable permitting tiles of. ditferent thickness to be handled. Aplate 31 (see Fig. 4) is mounted within the forward channel member 14a,and the plate is vertically adjustable with respect to the front wall ofthe channel member 14ain order to permit the position of the lower edge31a of the plate to be adjusted. The distance between the plate 31 andthe rear wall of the back member 14b is less than the length of thetile, and preferably the tile are inserted into upper end of the hopperon a slant with the leading-edges higher than the trailing edges. As thetile are fed one at a time from the bottom of the hopper, the individualtile will gradually fall in the hopper until the leading -edge dropsbeneath the lower edge 31a of the front plate 31. The leading edge ofthe tile, therefore, will no longer be supported in slanted position incontact with the front .wall 31, and the tile will drop onto the top ofa small group at the lower end of the hopper, which tile are slanted inthe opposite direction, that is to say, with the leading edge beneaththe trailing edge.

This arrangement, which produces a wedged gap in the hopper between thegroup of tile at the lower end of the hopper and the larger group oftile at the upper end, has the advantage that it prevents the entireweight of the tile within the hopper from rating on the bottom tile.Consequently, it makes it easier to slide the lowermost tile toward thedischarge opening 14c from beneath the tile above it. It should beevident that the number of tile beneath this wedge-shaped gap at thebottom of the hopper can be regulated by adjusting the plate 31 toaccurately position the lower edge 31a thereof.

The tile handled by the machine ordinarily has a pronounced curl, andcare should be ta e it) Mg that that the upper end of the stack of tileis at approximately the same level as additional memos. N I

4 the tile is inserted with the curled edges in the leading and trailingpositions and the straight edges parallel to the direction of feed. I

The entire feed unit is supported by a frame 34, and the frame 34 ispivotally supported above a base 35 of the main frame structure B of themachine. The frame 34 is pivoted at the forward end by the pivot shaft36 and supported at the rear end by one or more threaded screws 37upstanding from'the base 34. The adjustment of the nuts 38 on thethreaded screws makes it possible to adjust the height of the rear endof the frame 34 thereby pivoting the entire feed unit 15. The pivotalmounting of the feed unit 15, in turn, makes it possible to adjust thedirection of discharge of the tile from the feed unit.

The tile are discharged from the lower end of the hopper by sliding theleading edge of the lowermost tile across the base 14d and through theopening 14c into the bite of a pair of feed rolls 39, 40. The tile arefed to the feed rolls one at a time by a reciprocating slide 33 whichtravels in guides 41 of the pivotal frame 34. The slide 33 is drivenback and forth toward and away from the discharge opening 140 by arotating crank arm 42 and a link 43 which connects the crank arm to. atransverse shaft 44 at the rearof the slide.

The feed rolls 39, 40 rotate at a rate faster than the slide in order toadvance the tile more rapidly than the slide. This prevents the tilefrom impeding the forward advance of the slide and insures that a tileis discharged before the approach of a succeeding tile to preventjamming.

' The crank 42 is carried at the end of a rotating shaft 46, and theshaft is supported in bearings 47 above the frame 34. The extreme end ofthe shaft 46 carries a, sprocket wheel 48 and the sprocket wheel 48, inturn, is driven by a chain 49. As best shown in Fig. 3, the chains 49for both feed units are driven from sprocket wheels carried on a commonshaft50, theshaft 50 being sup.- ported in bearings of a supportingstructure 51 of the main base frame B of the machine. The shaft 50 alsocarries a wheel 52 which is driven by a belt or chain 53 from the motor54. This common drive for the feed units permits them to be operated inout-of-phase relationship so that they will feed tile alternately to thetransporter 16. v

As best shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the reciprocating slide 33 carries twotile engaging fingers 55 side by side thereon, and the fingers arepivotally mounted to the slide on shafts 56. The extreme rear' end ofeach of the pivoted fingers 55 accommodates a block 57 having a shoulder58 formed thereon, and the block 57 is adjustably mounted to the member55 by screws 59. The height. of the shoulder 58, which may be adjustableto accommodate tile of different thickness, must be less than thethickness of the tile, but great enough to afiord maximum bite on therear edge of the tile.

As best shown in Fig. 7, the slide also carries hollow housings 60directly beneath the rearward ends of the pivotal members 55, whichhousings accommodate compression springs 61 therein, and the compressionsprings normally urge the rear ends of the fingers upwardly to tileengaging positions. As the slide 33 is translated during its returnstroke, the pivotal fingers 55 travel beneath the lowermost tile in thehopper, and as the fingers pass beyond the rear edge of the lowermosttile, the shoulders 58 of the blocks 57 will spring upwardly in positionto engage the rear edge of the tile. During the forward stroke of theslide, the engagement of the shoulders 58 with the rear edge of thelowermost tile in the hopper will advance the tile forwardly through thedischarge opening 14c and deliver the leading edge of the tile to thebite between the feed rolls 39 and 40. 1

The feed rolls 39 and 40 are supported on shafts 65, 66, respectively,supported in bearings of the frame 34. As best shown in Fig. 3 the feedrolls of both feed units are driven by a motor 70 supported by the mainframe structure B of the machine. The motor 70 drives the feed rolls ofthe feed unit at the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, by means of a belt 71,and the feed rolls of .the unit at the right by means of a belt 72. Thebelt 71 engages a sheave 73 mounted at the extreme 'end of the shaft 66of the lower feed roll and the belt 72 engages a sheave 74 at theextreme end of the shaft 65 of the upper feed, thereby insuring that thefeed rolls of the two feed units are driven in the proper direction. Theopposite extreme ends of the shafts 65, 66, of each "of the feed unitscarry gears 78, 79, respectively, and the gears 78, 79, although not inmesh with each other, are connected by means of idler gears 80, 81mounted on shafts 80a and 81a, respectively, of the frame 34. The use ofidler gears permits continuous gear engagement'and allows for adjustmentof nip opening between the rolls for tile of varying thickness.

As mentioned above, the tile discharged from the feed rolls interrupts alight beam from the light source 19 directed toward the photoelectriccell 18. The grooves 83 cut in the periphery of the feed rolls 39 and40, as shown in Fig. 6, form a passage for the light beam, immediatelyadjacent the discharge end of the hopper. The interruption in the beamcauses the electronic counter A to register the count of the tile whichhave been discharged from the feed unit, and the position of the beamimmediately adjacent the discharge end of the hopper permits the tile tobe counted as soon as possible after the tile has been discharged. Also,this construction permits the feed fingers to be locked out of operationas soon as possible afterthe last tile has been discharged and beforeanother tile has been discharged. The count from each of the feed unitsis transmitted to the electronic counter A so that the electroniccounter totals the tile received from both of the feed units. Thus, if.during the course of operation, due to mechanical failure, one of thehoppers fails to supply a tile during a cycle of operation, there willbe'no count registered from that feed unit. Furthermore, shouldmechanical failurestop the one feed unit from operating at all, thefeeding operations will continue from the other feed unit until thedesired number of tile has been stacked on the transporter.

When the predetermined number of tile has been fed from the feed units,the feed fingers 55 are pivoted to an inoperative position to preventadditional tile from being discharged. Thus, the slide 33 whichcontinues-to reciprocate, is ineffective for discharging the tile. Thepivotal operation of the feed fingers 55 to inoperative position isbrought about by the energization of a solenoid 85 mounted to the framestructure 34 by a holder 86 beneath each of the feed fingers 55.

As best shown in Fig. 7, the tile feeding fingers 55 are provided withdownwardly extending arms 87 at right angles to the fingers, and thelower ends of the arms carry rollers 88. A companion pivotal latchmember 89 for each of the feed fingers 55 is carried by the slide 33.Each of the latch members 89 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 90 (seeFig. 8) beneath the slide 33, the shaft 90 being supported between apair of bosses 91 carried by and beneath the slide, and a downwardlydisposed lug or projection 89a is formed integrally as part of the latch89. The latch 89 is more or less horizontally disposed, as shown in Fig.7, and the extreme forward end thereof is formed with a concave edge 89band an inclined or beveled edge 89c formed above the concave edge.

Normally, the weight of the latch 89 is such as to maintain theoperative concave edge 89b in a downward inoperative position during thereciprocation of the slide 33. Upon the actuation of the solenoid 85,the armature "85a thereof is pivoted (see Fig. 8), raising the stop orengagement of the projection 89a'w'ith the stop 93 pivots the latch 89ina clockwise direction, as viewed 'inFig. 7, and this pivotal action ofthe latch 89 brings the beveled edge 89c thereof into contact with theroller 88, camming it in such manner as to pivot the feed fingers 55 ina clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 7, against the action of thecompression springs 61. The roller 88 ultimately is brought into contactwith the concave edge 89b of the latch, which concave edge serves tolock the finger 55 its retracted, inoperative position. It is evidentthat while the fingers 55 are thus locked in retracted positions by thelatches 89, the fingers will be held out of contact with the bottom tilein the hopper, and, therefore, the further reciprocation of the slide 33will not advance additional'tile toward the feed rolls.

The slide continues to reciprocate without feeding are from the hopperuntil the transporter 16'h'as'h'ad-a'n opportunity to deliver the stackpreviously compiled t'o-'"the platform 20 and to return to "tilereceiving position. When the transporter 16 has returned to the tilereceiving position, a solenoid 95 (see Fig. 7) is energized; Theenergization of thesolenoid 95 pivots the armature thereof "and raises atrip 96 into operative position to engage the projection 89a of thelatch 89 during the next forward travel of the slide 33. The engagementof the projection 89a with the trip 96 pivots the latch 89 in acounterclockwise direction, disengaging the concave edge 89b of thelatch and theroller 88. As soon as the respective tile feeding finger 55is released by the latch 89, the compression spring '61'is 'freetourge-the operative end of the finger 55 upwardly, so'tha't during thenext cycle of operation of the slide, the shoulder-58 thereof will bepermitted to engage the rear 'edge of the lowermost tile in the hopperand advance it toward the bite of the feed rolls 39, 40. The feed'oftile by the feed unit continues until 'the'next stack of tile iscompleted and the solenoid 85 is "once again energized.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the tile are fed by the rolls 39, 40 across aledge 98 and beneath spring guides 99 before they are delivered into theupper end of the squaring box 17, and these spring guides 99 slap thetile into position in the squaring box 17 in a quick and eflicientmanner. Since the tile are fed at great speed, the opposite remote walls17a of the 'box -17 serve a": backboards against which the leading edgesof the tile strike. Preferably the timing of the delivery of the tile tothe squaring box 17 from the two oppositely disposed feed units is suchthat the leading edges of the tile from the one feed unit engages theupper surface of the tile beneath it fed from the opposite feed unit inthe vicinity of the trailing edge of the tile. This impact aids theproper seating of the trailing edge or the lower tile and overcomes anytendency of the tile to overturn or to seat improperly as they are fedrapid alternate succession from the two feed units.

The transporter 16 is mounted at the upper end of a long verticallydisposed rod 100 (see Fig. 2) which is guided for vertical movement bythe bearing guide brackets 101 (see Fig. 3) of the main frame structure"B. The transporter 16 is moved upwardly and downwardly by a pair oflevers 102 (see Fig. 3) tied together to move in synchronism andpivotally mounted to the main frame structure B ona shaft 103. The 'freeends of the levers 102 are connected by'm'eans of vertically disposedlinks 104 with the upper end of the transporter 16. As shown in Fig.3,'tension spring 105 is connected to the levers 102 to normallymaintain'th'e transporter 16 in the raised position. A pneumaticcylinder 106 is mounted to the main frame B, and the downward stroke ofthe piston rod 107 pivots the levers 102 in a clockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 3, to lower the transporter 16.

A fixed weight 109 and an adjustable weight 110 are carriedeccentrically of the axis of the shaft 1'03""to counterbalance theweight of the transporter 16.

adjustable weight 110 is threada'bly carried at the end of a shaft'lll,and the stationary: weight 109 is supported from the shaft 103' betweena pair of arms 112. The adjustable counterweight 110 provides a fineadjustment for counterbalancing the weight of the transporter 16 so thata sensitive calibrated spring 105 can be employed. The upper end of thespring 105 is connected to the beam 35 by a spring retaining member 105a(see Fig. '3), and the tension of the Spring 105a can be adjusted byattaching the member 105a to one of a series of holes 105b formed in thebeam. Thus, adjustments can be made for handling tile .of differentweight by varying the tension of the spring and by adjusting thecounterbalancing weight 110.

During the stacking of the tile on the transporter, the spring 105 iselongated under the weight of the incomtile, allowing the transporter todescendgradually. Therefore, as mentioned above, the upper level of thestack is always approximately substantially constant, and the.tiledischarged from the feedunits always travels approximately the samedistance to the stacking position,regardless of the height of the stack.v-When a stack s'of a predetermined number of tile has been compiled onthe transporter 16, the air cylinder 106 is actuated to lower thetransporter to the level of the platform 20. The stack is then removedfrom the transporterby the operation of a pair of upstanding pushermembers 114, 114a operated by the air cylinder 115 (see Fig. 2).Meanwhile, the transporter is raised to the tile receiving position bythe tension spring 105 order that the compilation of the next stack oftile can be begun. ;.As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the longmultistation platform 20 may accommodate as many as five stacks of tile,s1, s2, s3, s4 annd s5, thereon. As each successive stack is deliveredto the platform 20, each of the stacks previously received is advancedone station by a plurality of pusher members 116, 116a. Each pair of thepusher members 116, 116a serves to advance a stack of tile from onestation of the platform 20 to the next. Accordingly, they are movedlongitudinally of the platform to slide the stack to the next station,then they are moved apart preparatory to their return stroke, so thatthey will pass outboard on opposite sides of the stack behind. Aftercompleting their return stroke, the pusher-members 116, 116a are movedtoward each other in position to engage the next stack in line. Thepusher members 114,. 114a, 116, 116a are carried by longitudinallymovable slides 118 which travel within channel guides 119 of theplatform (see Fig. 3) and the reciprocation of the slides 118 moves theaforesaid pusher members during their stack advancing and returnstrokes. The slides 118 are connected by a plate 120 to insuresimultaneous movement thereof. The slides 118 are reciprocated inlongitudinal directions forward and rearward by the air cylinder 115.The air cylinder 115 is connected by brackets 121 to the main framestructure B of the machine, and the piston rod -122 of the cylinder isconnected to a vertically disposed lever 123 which, in turn, is pivotedat its lower end on ashaft 124 supported by the main frame structure.The extreme upper end of the pivotal lever 123 is connected byturnbuckles 125 to the plate 120 beneath the slides 118. Thus, thestroke of the piston rod 122 in one direction advances the slide, andthe stroke of the piston rod in the other direction retracts the slide.

In order to permit the pusher members 116, 116a .to be moved toward eachother before the forward longitudinal movement of the slides 118 andapart before the rearward longitudinal movement of the slides, thepusher members 116, 116a are carried by slides 130, 130a, respectively,which are accommodated in "transverse ways or guides 131 above theslides 118. As best shown in Figs. .Z and 3,-the transverse slides 130,

130a are formed with saddles which extend downwardly and straddle longfore-and-aft rods 134, 134a, respec-' tively. The'rod 134 which controlsthe operation of the pushers 116 at the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, issupported by arms 135 carried by a long fore-and-aft rock shaft 136, andthe rod 134a which controls the operation of the pushers 1160 at theright, as viewed in Fig. 3, is supported by arms 135a carried by a longfore-and-aft rock shaft 136a. The shafts 136 and 136a are rotatablysupported in bearings 137 of the main frame structure B of the machine.Thus, the rotation of the two shafts 136, 136a simultaneously inopposite directions moves the pusher bars 116, 116a toward and away fromeach other simultaneously.

The shafts 136, 136a are adapted to be rotated simultaneously by themovable piston of an air cylinder 140 (see Fig. 3) which-cylinder isconnected to the main frame structure B of the machine. The piston rod141 of the cylinder is connected to a lever 142 rigidly mounted on thefore-and-aft shaft 136a, and the recip rocation of the piston rod 141rocks the shaft 136a, moving the pusher 116a inwardly and outwardly. Thelower end of the lever 142 is connected by means of a diagonal link 143to an arm 144 rigidly mounted on the fore-and-aft shaft 136. Thus, theoscillation of the shaft 136a imparts oscillation in opposite directionsto the shaft 136, moving the pusher elements 116 in opposite transversedirections to the pusher elements 116a.

The operation of the pusher bars 116, 116a advances the stacks of tilefrom one station to the next along the entire length-of the platform 20until the platform has received its full complement of five stacks. Thesequence of operation is as follows. The operation of the air cylinder115 moves the slides 118 in a forward direction, and the pusher bars116, 116a which are carried along with the slides move the stacks fromone station of the platform to the next. The pusher bars 114, 114a whichalso are carried along with the slides move the stack from thetransporter 16 to the first station of the platform. When the pusherelements 116, 116a have completed their forward stroke, the operation ofthe aid cylinder 140 moves the pusher elements to a spread-apartposition, so that during the return stroke thereof, they will pass onoutboard of the succeeding stacks of tile. The operation of the aircylinder thereupon moves the slides 118 in the reverse direction,translating the pusher bars 116, 116a, 114, 114a to their startposition. At the completion of the return stroke of the slides 118, thecylinder moves the pusher bars 116, 116a toward each other and behindthe succeeding stacks of tile on the platform preparatory to the nexttile advancing stroke of the slides 118.

When all of the stations of the platform 20 are occupied, as indicatedwhen. a stack of tile reaches the last position on the platform, thebumpers 23 and 26 are actuated, as mentioned above, to slide the stackstransversely of the platform onto the receiving tables 21, 22, 24 and25. The bumper element 23 is actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 147, andthe bumper element 26 is actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 148. Thepiston rods 149 and 150, respectively, of the cylinders 147, 148 areconnected to the pusher elements 23, 26. Rods 151 are connected to thepusher elements 23 and 26, and the rods movable in guides 152 so thatthe pusher elements 23, 26 will be moved evenly in a transversedirection across the respective stations of the platform.

The sequence of operation of the various elements of the machine iscontrolled by an electrical control system which is only schematicallyrepresented in Fig. 9. Referring to that figure, a voltage V isimpressed across the lines 160, 161, and a switch 162 closes a circuitto the motor 70 which drivesj the feed rolls and a switch '9 163 closesa circuit to the motor 54which reciprocates the slide 33.

As mentioned above, each .time a tile is discharged from one of thehoppers to be added to the stack, it interrupts the light beam directedtoward the photoelectrtic cell 18 stationed at the-discharge opening ofthe hopper, and these interruptions in the light beam are counted by anelectronic counter A. When the predetermined number of tile has beenstacked on the transporter 16, a pulse is emitted from the counter toenergize momentarily the solenoids 85 which lock the feed fingers 55 ininoperative position, thereby stopping the further discharge of tile.Also, a circuit is completed via the closed switch LS to energize a timerelay 180 which closes contacts 181, completing a circuit .to energizethe solenoid controlled valve 164. The time delay affords ampleopportunity for the last tile to 'settle before the transporter 16 islowered. When the circuit is completed, the solenoid controlled valve164 admits air to the cylinder 106, driving the piston rod downwardly topivot the lever 102 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3,thereby lowering the transporter 16.

The lever 102 controls switches LS4 and LS6. When the transporter is inits lowermost position, the switch LS6 is closed, thereby completing acircuit via the closed switches LS7, LS12 and LS13 to the solenoidcontrolled valve 166 of the cylinder 115. The switches L812 and L813 aremaintained closed by the bumpers 23, 26 in their inoperative position.When the solenoid controlled valve 166 is thus operated, the cylinder115 moves the slides 1.18 longitudinally in the forward direction,causing the pusher bars 114, 114a to slide the stack on the transporterto the platform 20 and the pusher bars 116, 116a toadvance each of thestacks on the platform from one station to the next.

When :the switch LS6 is closed, the relay 169 is also energized, closinga by-pass switch 170 for the switch LS6. Thus, the switch LS6 can beopened when the transporter rises without breaking the circuit to thesolenoid controlled valve 166.

The switch LS5 is opened by the forward advance of the slides 118,thereby breaking the circuit to the solenoid controlled valve 164, andthe transporter is permitted to be raised by the spring 105. If desired,the breaking of the circuit to the solenoid controlled valve 164 maycause the solenoid controlled valve 164 .to reverse the direction of thestroke of the piston of the cylinder 115 to raise the transporter 16.

The switch LS4 is closed when the transporter 16 is in its uppermostposition, and the switch LS4 completes acircuit to energize momentarilythe solenoids 95 which release the feed fingers 55 and initiate the feedof tile to compile the next stack on the transporter.

.At the completion of the forward stroke of the slides 118, the solenoidcontrolled valve 167 of the cylinder 140 is actuated to operate thecylinder in order to effect theseparation of the tile pushers 116, 116a.The circuit is completed via the switches LS7a and LS10. The switch LSis normally closed, except when the slides -118 are in their rearward orstart position, in which position the switch is held open. The switchLS7a is closed by the slides 118 in their extreme forward position.

The circuit completed by closing the switch'LS7a also energizes a relay172 which closes a by-pass switch 174 for the switch LS7a. The by-passswitch 174 will maintain the circuit to the solenoid controlled valve167 even though the switch LS7a is again opened after the slides 118begin their rearward stroke.

When the slides 118 reach their extreme forward positi'on, the switchLS7 is opened, breaking the circuit to the solenoid controlled valve166, and thereby adjusting the valve to reverse the direction ofoperation of the cylinan 115. The opening of the switch LS7 also'breaksthe circuit to the relay 169 and the deenergization of the 10relay-opens the 'by-passswitch 170. Thus,- even:though*the switch LS7 isagain closed when the slides 118 begin their return, the'circuit to thesolenoid controlled valve 166 will not be established.

When the slides 118 reach their rearmost position, the switch LS10 isopened, breaking the circuit to the'solenoid controlled valve 167. Thiscauses'the pusher bars 116, 116a to be moved toward each other inposition and behind the-next stack on the platform. The opening of theswitch LS10 also breaks the circuit to the relay 172, and thedeenergization of the relay opens the switch 174.

When the platform 20 has received its full complement of stacks, asindicated when the stack s5 closes the switch LS9, a circuit will beconditioned to actuate the solenoid controlled valve 175. The switch LS9will remain closed while the stack s5 remains in position atthe laststation of the platform. When the'slides 118 reach their rearmostposition, a switch LS10a will be closed. Thereupon, a circuit will becompleted through the closed switches LS9, LS10a, LS8 and LS11 to thesolenoid controlled valve 175, and when this valve is actuated, air .isintroduced to the cylinders 147, 148 tomove the bumpers 23, 26transversely to slide the stacks s2, s3, s4 and 35, respectively, ontothe tables 21, 22, 24 and 25.

The completion of the circuit to the solenoid controlled valve alsoenergizes a relay 171 which closes a bypass switch 173 for the switchesLS9, LS10a.

When the bumpers 23, 26 reach the end of their strokes, they open theswitches LS8, LS11, respectively, breaking the circuit to the solenoidcontrolled valve 175, as well as to the relay 171. This effects thereturn stroke of the bumpers 23, 26 and when the bumpers reach theirstart positions, they again close the switches LS12 and L513 tocondition the circuit for the actuation of the solenoid controlled valve166 for operation, thus completing the cycle of operation.

If desired safety switches LS1 and LS2 (see Figs. 9 and 11) may beprovided for each of the hoppers to stop the feeding of tile from eitheror both hoppers when the tile in one of the hoppers approachesexhaustion. The switches LS1 and LS2 are normally held open byengagement with the tile in the hoppers, but when the tile in one of thehoppers falls below a predetermined height, the respective switch isclosed, energizing a relay 182. The energization of relay 182 closes acircuit to energize the solenoids 85, thereby stopping the further feedof tile from both hoppers until the supply in the low hopper isreplenished. A switch LS3 may be placed in parallel with switches LS1and also LS2 to stop the feed in the event of an overcount, that is,when tile above the predetermined number have been delivered to thetransporter. The switch LS3, like switches LS4 and LS6, is closed by thelever 102 when the transporter 16 descends below a predetermiend level.Also, a switch L514 may be placed in series with switches LS1, LS2and-LS3 to render the circuit inoperative between certain ranges. Thisswitch, like switches LS4 and LS6, may be controlled by the lever 102 sothat it will be closed to render the circuit in condition for operationwhen the count reaches a certain number, then opened until the count isreached and thereafter closed in the event of an overcount.

It may be desirable to stack tile in a predetermined sequence from eachof the two hoppers, such as where each of the hoppers feeds tile of adifferent design and the design is to be combined in a predeterminedratio, for example, 2 to 1.

Furthermore, in order not to mar or scratch the smooth (face up) surfaceof tile, it is sometimes desirable to have a stack made up with thefirst few tile (on the bottom of the stack) face up and the-last fewtile (on the top of the stack) face down. The surface can be marred bysliding a stack of tile from station to station on the platform 20, orby some over anxious custom'er opening a box of tile with a knife,screwdriver, or

11 some blunt instrument. Accordingly, the 'tile may be loaded face downin'one hopper and face up in the other hopper, and one or more tile arefed initially from the hopper in which they are stored face up to insurethat the lowermost tile in a stack is face up before the feed of tilefrom the other hopper is started. Also, just before the compilation of astack, the feed of tile from the hopper in which they are stored face upis stopped before the feed of tile from the hopper in which they arestored face down, thereby insuring that the uppermost tile in the stackis face down.

Referring to the circuit diagram of Fig. 10, the energization of thesolenoids 85' operate to stop the feed of tile from the one hopper andthe energization of the solenoids 85a operate to stop the feed of tilefrom the other hopper. Also, the energization of the solenoids 95'operate to initiate the feed of tile from one hopper and theenergization of the solenoids 95a operate to initiate the feed of tilefrom the other hopper. A switch 183 closed by the counter A completesthe circuit for the energization of the solenoids 85, and a switch 184also closed by the counter completes the circuit for the energization ofthe solenoids 85a.

When the switch LS4 is closed to initiate the feed of tile, thesolenoids 95a will be energized immediately, feeding the tile face down.The time delay relay 185 is also energized, closing the contacts 186,and thereafter the tile will be fed alternately until a preliminarycount for which the counter has been set is reached. Thereupon, theswitch 183 will be closed, stopping the further feed of face-up tile,and subsequent thereto, when the predetermined count has been reached,the switch 184 will be closed, stopping the feed of face-down tile. Thisarrangement assures that the lowermost tile in the stack is face up andthe uppermost tile in the stack is face down.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form and by wayof example only, and various modifications and variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to beunderstood, therefore, that the invention is not to be limited to anyspecified form or embodiment except insofar as such. limitations arespecified in the appended claims. i We claim:

1. In a machine for stacking articles, a hopper for storing the articlesto. be stacked, a discharge opening therein, article receiving meansspaced outside of the hopper and spaced from said discharge opening, areciprocating slide, a pivotal member carried by said reciprocatingslide for engaging the rear edge of the lowermost article in the hopperand advancing it through said discharge opening in the direction of saidarticle receiving means, means for locking said pivotal member ininoperative position after a predetermined number of articles have beendelivered to the article receiving means, and trip means operable torestore the pivotal member to operative position.

2. In a machine for stacking articles, oppositely disposed hoppers foraccommodating the articles to be stacked, a transporter spaced betweenthe oppositely disposed hoppers, yielding means acting on thetransporter to urge the transporter upwardly but yielding under theweight of the incoming articles stacked on the transporter so as togradually descend and maintain the uppermost stacked article atsubstantially the same height, article feeding means associated witheach of the hoppers, the article feeding means of the oppositelydisposed hoppers delivering the articles to the transporter in alternatesuccession from opposite directions, a surface supported independentlyof the transporter for engaging and registering the leading edge of thearticles discharged from one hopper, a surface supported independentlyof the transporter for engaging and registering the leading edge of thearticles discharged from the other hopper, the

12 transporter being disposed between the said surfaces, and meansindependent of said yielding means to impart vertical motion to thetransporter. v

3. In a machine for stacking articles, a hopper for storing articles tobe stacked, and means for discharging the articles from the hoppercomprising a pair of feed rolls, a reciprocating slide, a pivotal fingercarried by said slide, a shoulder formed in the finger for engaging therear edge of the lowermost article in the hopper and advancing theleading edge of the article toward the feed rolls, spring means carriedby the slide urging the pivotal finger to operative position, a pivotallocking member carried by said slide, said pivotal locking member beingnormally in an inoperative position but movable to operative position, acam edge formed on said pivotal locking member which, upon actuation,engages the pivotal finger, pivoting the finger to inoperative position,and recessed means formed in the pivotal locking member engageable witha companion portion of the pivotal finger to maintain the pivotal fingerin inoperative position, thereby stopping the discharge of the articlesfrom the hopper.

4. A machine for stacking articles as set forth in claim 3 includingtrip means operative to disengage the recessed means of the pivotallocking member from the pivotal finger.

5. In a machine for handling stacked articles, a vertically movabletransporter for transporting the articles in stacked relationshipthereon, a stack receiving platform having a plurality of stations insequence for accommodating stacks, means for moving the transporter tostack discharging position, means operable to move the stack from thetransporter to the stack receiving platform, stack advancing meansassociated with the stack receiving platform for intermittentlyadvancing the stacks from one station to the next, whereby the stackreceiving platform may accommodate a predetermined number of stacks,stack receiving means situated adjacent certain stations of the stackreceiving platform, and stack removing means adjacent each of saidstations on the side opposite the stack receiving means of said station,and means operable when a stack is advanced to the last of said stationsof the platform to initiate the operation of all of the stack removingmeans simultaneously, thereby moving a plurality of the stacks atdifferent stations on the platform from the respective station to thestack receiving means associated with said station.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein the stack advancing meansincludes a movable slide, means for guiding the movement of the slide,and stack pusher members carried by the slide and being independentlymovable with respect to the slide at an angle from the direction ofmovement of the slide.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 including means for moving theslide to advance the stacks from one station to the next when thetransporter has reached stack discharging position.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 6 including means for moving thestack pusher members after the advance of the stacks from one station tothe next on the platform.

9. A machine as set forth in claim 5 including means for detecting thedischarge of an article from each of the hoppers, a counter for totalingthe number of articles thus stacked on the transporter, and meansresponsive to a predetermined number of articles counted to render thefeed means associated with each hopper in- ?iperative and forconditioning the transporter for opera- 10. A machine as set forth inclaim 9 including means responsive to the return of the transporter toarticle receiving position to render the feed means associated with eachhopper operative.

11. A machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein the stack removing meanswhich moves the stacks from the platform to the stacking receiving meansadjacent the 13 platform is a pusher member movable across the platform,and including means for operating the pusher member, and means engagedby a stack at the last station on the platform for conditioning thepusher member for operation.

12. In a machine for stacking flat articles, a transporter movable froma receiving position to a delivery position, a feeding unit fordelivering the articles one at a time to the transporter in stackedrelationship, a platform to which the stacks are delivered by thetransporter, a counter, means controlled by the counter for renderingthe feeding unit inoperative after a predetermined number of articleshave been discharged thereby, means controlled by the counter for movingthe transporter to a delivery position, first pusher members for slidingthe stack from the transporter to the platform, means controlled by thetransporter in the delivery position for oper ating said first pushermembers, and means controlled by the operation of the first pushermembers for conditioning the transporter for operation to its receivingposition.

13. A machine as set forth in claim 12 including second pusher membersmovable to advance the stacks received by the platform from one positionto the next, and means controlled by the transporter to actuate thesecond pusher members to advance the stacks.

14. A machine as set forth in claim 12 including a pair of second pushermembers movable to advance the stacks received by the platform from oneposition to the next, means controlled by the transporter to advance thepusher members, means for supporting the pair of second pusher membersfor movement at right angles to the direction of advance of the stacks,means for moving the second pusher members toward and away from eachother, and means responsive to the pusher members in the fully advancedposition to efiect the movement of the pusher members to spread apartposition preparatory to the return stroke thereof.

15. A machine as set forth in claim 12 including a third pusher membermovable transversely of the direction of advance of the stacks, meansengageable by a stack at the last station of the platform, and meanscontrolled by the engagement of the stack with said means to actuate thethird pusher member.

16. In a machine for stacking articles, a hopper for storing thearticles to be stacked, article receiving means, feed means fordischarging the articles one at a time from the hopper toward thearticle receiving means, means for rendering said feed means inoperativewhen a predetermined number of articles have been delivered to thearticle receiving means, and means for rendering said feed meansinoperative when the supply of articles stored in the hopper falls belowa predetermined level.

17. In a machine for stacking articles, a transporter movable from areceiving position to a delivery position, a feeding unit for deliveringarticles one at a time to the transporter in stacked relationship, acounter, means controlled by the counter for rendering the feeding unitinoperative after a predetermined number of articles have been fedthereby, means controlled by the counter for moving the transporter to adelivery position, and delay means for delaying the movement of thetransporter to the delivery position to insure that the last article tobe stacked is received by the transporter.

18. In a machine for stacking flat articles, a pair of hoppers, thearticles being stored face up in one of said hoppers and face down inthe other of said hoppers, feed means associated with each hopper,article receiving means for receiving articles discharged from bothhoppers, a counter for counting the articles discharged by said hoppers,means for initiating the operation of said feed means, delay meanswhereby the feed means associated with one hopper is initiatedsubsequent to the initiation of the feed means associated with the otherhopper, means controlled by the counter for stopping the operation ofthe feed means associated with one of said hoppers before apredetermined number of articles have been received by the articlereceiving means, and means controlled by the counter for stopping theoperation of the feed means associated with the other hopper when apredetermined number of articles have been received by the articlereceiving means.

19. In a machine for handling articles, a hopper for storing thearticles to be stacked, a transporter for receiving the articles fedfrom the hopper in stacked relationship, feed means for feeding thearticles one at a time from the hopper to the transporter, means forrendering said feed means inoperative after a predetermined number ofarticles has been delivered to the transporter, means for initiating themovement of the transporter to a delivery position after a stack hasbeen compiled thereon, pusher means for removing the said stack from thetransporter, means controlled by the movement of the transporter todelivery position for conditioning the pusher means for operation, meanscontrolled by the movement of the pusher means for initiating the returnmovement of the transporter to article receiving position, and meanscontrolled by the return of the transporter to article receivingposition for rendering said feed means operative to compile anotherstack of articles on the transporter.

20. In a machine for handling articles, the combination set forth inclaim 19 including pusher members synchronized with the movement of theabove-mentioned pusher means for advancing the stack of articles fromone station to another, means for imparting reciprocating movement tosaid pusher members, and means for moving said pusher members intoposition to engage a stack of articles before the advance stroke thereofand for moving said pusher members out of position to engage a stackadvanced by the above-mentioned pusher means before the return strokethereof.

21. In a machine for stacking articles, a hopper for storing thearticles to be stacked, a discharge opening therein, article receivingmeans spaced outside of the hopper and spaced from said dischargeopening, a reciprocating slide, a pivotal member carried by saidreciprocating slide for engaging the rear edge of the lowermost articlein the hopper and advancing it through said discharge opening in thedirection of said article receiving means, means for locking saidpivotal member in inoperative position after a predetermined number ofarticles has been delivered to the article receiving means, means forcounting the articles discharged from the hopper, and means controlledby the counting means for rendering the locking means operative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,412,795 Pfohl Apr. 11, 1922 1,514,929 Ray Nov. 11, 1924 1,592,367 Hrenet a1 July 13, 1926 1,957,318 Bush May 1, 1934 2,226,588 Simpson Dec.31, 1940 2,228,887 Peterson Jan. 14, 1941 2,294,718 Carroll Sept. 1,1942 2,551,685 McAleer et al. May 8, 1951 2,677,543 Ohrn May 4, 1954

